DeSantis expands vaccine eligibility

Executive order allows shots for teachers, police and firefighters

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Monday that opens up COVID-19 vaccination in Florida for K-12 teachers, law enforcement officers and firefighters age 50 and older.

He also said the state expects about 175,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine that could be delivered this week, an allotment would be enough to cover all of the 50-and-older teachers, law enforcement and firefighters in the state.

Florida educators and teachers unions have been clamoring for the state to make teachers a vaccine priority.

Union leaders said providing vaccines to teachers 50 years and older is a first step but all teachers should be able to get the shot, if they are teaching in person.

“My thoughts are everyone should get a vaccine, every teacher,” said Wendy Doromal, president of the Orange County teachers union.

More than half the other states have made all teachers a vaccine priority, and DeSantis should do the same in Florida, especially as he pushed public schools to open in August “despite the danger and the risk,” Doromal said.

“This governor takes baby steps,” she added.

The state already this week was getting its largest shipment of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines so far this year, with more than 400,000 initial doses. Those two vaccines both require a second dose to be most effective.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA on Saturday.

The federal retail pharmacy program also has been sending more vaccine directly to Publix, Walmart, Winn-Dixie and CVS, and four massive FEMA sites, including one at Valencia College’s west campus in Orlando, are set to open this week that will further the supply in Florida.

Representatives for law enforcement agencies said officers and deputies have been awaiting their turn to be vaccinated. Orange County deputies responded to

more than 1 million calls during 2020 and have an “extraordinary amount of contact” with people, said spokesperson Michelle Guido.

“We respond to areas and places that are not controlled environments, where people are not wearing masks, which puts our deputies at even great risk,” she said. “So the ability to be vaccinated is welcomed.”

Orlando police officers are thankful for the development, said spokeswoman Heidi Rodríguez. Police Chief Orlando Rolón and 149 other officers are scheduled to receive the vaccine Wednesday.

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said he expects that a large portion of eligible deputies will choose to get the vaccine. Doing so will let them serve more people and reinforce the message that the vaccine is safe, he said.

If needed, Lemma said he may offer an incentive for getting the vaccine, though he didn’t specify what.

DeSantis said the influx of vaccines and the growing percentage of the state’s 65-and-older population who have already received at least one shot of the vaccine drove him to consider lowering the age of who can get inoculated.

Last week he said the age would drop to 60 for certain, and possibly 55 and older sometime in March, but wouldn’t say exactly which date that change may come.

DeSantis said as an example of the demand slowing, the Publix portal, which is now for all of its more than 700 locations with pharmacies across the state, was accepting appointments for much longer than its previous portal openings.

“It took a lot longer to fill up tens of thousands of slots than it did two or three weeks ago,” he said. “So I think we’re reaching critical mass.”